Devouring This Year's Holiday Movies: The Good, The Bad and The So-Bad-It's-Good.

‘Tis the season to relax on the sofa and demolish a box of holiday pastries in front of a terrific flick, a bad movie, or one that’s so bad it’s good.

As always, a selection of fresh seasonal stories aims to become part of our holiday traditions—potentially even finding a spot alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start).

Thus, in a vital public service to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to embrace the festive feeling, I marathoned as many recent festive movies as possible in a single day.

7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Kicking off, ideally, on a positive note. This release is the exclusive 2025 title on a popular review site's list of the top 100 Christmas movies of all time.

The musical trio end up stranded in the UK after wrapping up their world tour and must get home for Christmas. Their attempts are thwarted by an malevolent Father Christmas, who breaks into song to announce they won’t get home until they “rediscover their sibling bond.”

The back-and-forth between the bickering brothers is amusing even for the non-fan, while followers will no doubt pick up on lots of in-jokes as they attempt to get back using any means of transport necessary.

It’s a travelogue of mishaps.

It’s not legendary, but is excellent for devotees and a solid start to the day.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who are obliged to sit through it.

Next: A Star in Panto

Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a celebrity roped into a traditional British stage show.

“A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and aging lead Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose agent has misled him into thinking he’s starring in renowned British drama.

His pantomime co-stars inform him he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he retorts. It's easy to predict their reply. Unless you’re not acquainted with traditional panto catchphrases.

There are some very funny lines, some cockle-warming side stories, and the supporting actors is brilliant, too.

It’s the type of film that would be a bit tacky at any other time of year, but is a great entertainment at Christmas.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

10.19am - Christmas Karma

An actor pops up at the outset of this film, too, insulting someone for the second consecutive movie. Is this a budding festive ritual?

This time, he’s a singing black cab driver who collects Mr Sood, the modern take on Mr Scrooge from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

Mr Sood is played by a star of Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by the filmmaker behind Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale develops as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is haunted by the apparitions of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This Indian Scrooge is at least distinct from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s portrayal is flat—a major flaw when he’s so central to everything.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

12.04pm - Stuffed

There’s time for a channel's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “isn't big on Christmas.”

But after he is awarded an large festive windfall at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) convinces him blowing the money on a holiday to Lapland.

There’s just one problem—he finds out there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to devise a plan for how to reimburse the excess.

Pleasant yet unmemorable.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

1.12pm - Champagne Problems

This is one of those holiday movies where the festive trappings are in the background—Christmas is the scene of the film rather than its core purpose—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same.

Driven corporate star Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a country estate to secure an acquisition for a sparkling wine company. En route, she runs into a man in a book store who offers to show her Christmas in Paris.

An expert recently stated this is the best new Christmas film of the last several seasons. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a holiday love story with a touch of class and gives the obligatory warm and fuzzy feels.

The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is notable too.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas

Sixteen-year-old Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, in spite of the persuasion of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the reality.

The secret is somewhere, and Chris sets out to find it with the expert help of a panel of well-known experts and celebrities.

It’s gentle but endearing, and ideal viewing while waiting for Santa to visit.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

A Star-Studded Family Drama

Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a bickering American family who gather for the holidays—including other Oscar nominee Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary.

Pfeiffer opens by name-dropping holiday staples like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before stating: “They need to make a movie about the true heroes of the holidays—moms.”

So that’s the concept, but in execution it’s really a mash-up of those inspirations, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually takes center stage.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret

The day’s taken a dip, but thankfully here’s a new entry in the crowded field of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and strangely compelling—holiday fare.

It’s a tale as well-worn: An American woman journeys to a far-off wintery locale and ends up discovering romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher